ISP vs. ISP: Comptel Backs FCC in Title II Fight

COMPTEL, which represents competitive communications carriers--ISPs, backbone providers and others--is putting its legal money where its mouth is, asking a D.C. federal court for permission to weigh in on the FCC's behalf in the legal challenges to the Title II reclassification order.

COMPTEL Tuesday (May 12) filed a petition to intervene with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia which, barring some last-minute legal maneuvering, will be hearing the appeals by cable and telco associations and others.

COMPTEL, which supported reclassifying ISPs as telecoms under the Title II common-carrier regs, told the court that the rules "will ensure that consumers and businesses can access a competitive network of online content, applications, and services."

The rules, which passed on a pure party line vote Feb. 26, are scheduled to go into effect June 12, unless the court grants stays being prepared by cable and telco operators and likely to be filed by week's end. The FCC last week denied stay requests from the same folks, promoting the next step of seeking the court stay.